By Samuel Rosenberg From CARIBBEAN360

NEW YORK, United States, Thursday May 7, 2015 – You may never know why or how disaster will strike you, your home or your business, and without warning you may be forced out of your home and out of work and enter into a period of great hardship, unless your budget planning included the purchase of the necessary insurance to protect you from an act of God.

Strangely, some fine print in your insurance policy will tell you that you are not covered by certain acts of God, which is a technical term for a damaging event or a peril that is outside of human control; but no one could have prevented and for which no party can be held legally responsible. Fortunately, many acts of God such as flood, hurricane and earthquake damage can be covered by your insurance policy.

You can protect yourself against the great unknowns by ensuring that you have insurance to guard against all the potential disasters, as that insurance will become fundamental in securing the value of your assets and finances. Should your office burn down, knowing that you have insurance that will replace the building, will allow you to continue your business from your place of work. Some insurance policies will provide the funds for you to relocate to an alternative set of premises while your business is being rebuilt. This is essential to ensure that your business income can continue throughout this very difficult and troubling experience.

Some insurance is required by law and other is optional extras that it is sensible to consider as you balance the odds of paying for the insurance every year, compared to your potential losses in a disaster.

Vehicle insurance is compulsory and is required for you to be able to renew the road licence for your vehicle. Where your business relies upon your vehicles to transport people or goods, your insurance company may provide you with an alternative vehicle if the damage or repair to your own is going to put you out of action and cause you to lose business.

General liability insurance will be required so that your customers and your employees will be insured against any negligence that can be attributed to your business. Whether customers are visiting you in a shop or you are providing goods that may injure a customer, you will require insurance cover, otherwise a claim may put you out of business and cause you to lose your home to pay your debts.

Property insurance is essential because most people cannot afford to replace their property should it be destroyed by an act of God.

A flood can be caused by a burst pipe or severe storm and in many circumstances; people find that their property is in danger of being flooded, without sufficient time to ward off the havoc that water can bring to your property.

Earthquakes and hurricanes can instantly destroy your business premises, but you will need to carefully read the terms and conditions of your insurance policy to see what you are covered for and which circumstances will leave you without insurance coverage.

The good news is that the expense of purchasing business insurance can be set against the tax you will pay from the profits that you will make from running your business. There is enormous wisdom in considering which optional insurance cover may be suitable for you to match the specific needs of your business in the event of disaster striking. To be able to turn to your insurance policy to replace your assets and business, can be the difference between impending financial doom or being able to carry on your business and earning its profits and income with just the feeling of a little interference when the damage strikes.

The writer is the founder and CEO of Axcel Finance Ltd., the leading regional microfinance institution. Share your thoughts and email your questions to [email protected]

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